To Walk a Thousand Miles
by Zelgadis55
Summary: An accident in the midst of battle for the Maten Kyoumon has serious consequences for Goku and Kougaiji. Rated T Non Yaoi. Please R&R :
1. Chapter 1

Series: Saiyuki

Title: To Walk a Thousand Miles

Author: Zelgadis55

Rating: PG13

Warnings: Small amount of language, Sanzo and Gojyo are in this story afterall :-)

Pairings: None (only a few small hints like you would get by reading the manga or watching the anime, make what you will of it)

Disclaimer: None of the characters of Saiyuki belong to me, they all belong to the talented Kazuya Minekura. I make no money with this story, only entertainment.

Summary: An accident in the midst of battle for the Maten Kyoumon has serious consequences for Goku and Kougaiji.

A/N: This chapter is something I actually wrote about a year ago and am just recently starting to work on. I don't expect updates to be as frequent as past stories of mine but by starting to post, it will get my butt into gear so to speak :-) Comments are appreciated always.

**To Walk a Thousand Miles**

**Pt 1**

"_Arrrgh!__ Kougaijiii_!" Goku yelled as he rushed at the youkai prince, brandishing his nyoi-bou, "I won't let you win, I'll never give up!"

Likewise, Kougaiji ran at the young earth spirit, arm held high and ready to fend off the weapon that was descending toward him. "I will not give up either. I need the Maten Kyoumon and I will go through you and anyone else I need to, to get it. You cannot stand between me and the monk for much longer." The nyoi-bou hit his arm and Kougaiji winced from the impact, if it had hit much harder, he was sure it would have done some real damage. As it was, his forearm was now hurting like hell but he would not admit it to anyone, especially his enemy. He summoned a fireball and sent it flying towards his opponent's face and Goku fell back with a cry of surprise before bounding back onto his feet and slamming nyoi-bou in Kougaiji's direction once more. This time he missed, the pyro prince pulling back just enough to avoid the impact.

As Goku accidentally slammed nyoi-bou into the ground, he created a crater at the center of impact and both opponents found they had trouble retaining their balance as the ground began to collapse under their feet. The shifting earth and rock beneath them finally settled and the two flew at each other once more, determination filling their faces. As they came together at the heart of the devastation, their eyes never left each other's gaze while letting fly with several vicious punches and kicks before landing with precarious balance on the broken ground once more.

So intent were they on finally deciding a victor in this seemingly never-ending battle, that both combatants failed to notice the warning signs; the sudden rumbling sounds from below. Kougaiji's face contorted slightly as he summoned flame to surround his fist, punching it into Goku's stomach. The blow hit hard, making the young fighter fall. As he fell, Goku lashed out with his right foot, sweeping the prince's legs out from underneath him. The two went down and down as the unstable ground beneath them opened up, swallowing them whole as they continued to fall.

They fell about thirty meters, slamming into a couple of rocky outcroppings on the way down before finally splashing to a halt in an underground river. The strong current swept Goku and Kougaiji along at a rapid pace, preventing the two barely conscious youkai from being able to do much more than keep their heads above water. Before long, the struggle grew too much with first Kougaiji succumbing to darkness and not long after, Goku.

A being with glowing eyes spied the pair sinking underneath the water and it flew through the pervading darkness of the underground cavern to fish out the two foes before carrying them to shore. The creature regarded the fallen pair for several moments, "Such a proud pair," it whispered with a sibilant hiss, "they should not be fighting." Curled hands, if they could be called as such, reached over the foreheads of the two and a purplish black miasma formed, moving from each hand to the foreheads of Goku and Kougaiji.

Laughter hissed as the miasma cleared and then died away as the winged being flew away.

- . - . -

Above ground where the fight had been taking place, the remains of the two groups circled the hole in the ground. "_Onii-chan_!" Lirin cried out desperately. There had been no sound from within the hole in the ground and no one could see to the bottom. It was far too dark to make out any details.

"Yaone-chan!" the young girl cried in fear, "Onii-chan is down there! He could be hurt!"

"I know he is Lirin-sama. Kougaiji-sama will be fine, I promise." The apothecary said soothingly. "We will get both him and Goku-san out of there." She looked at Sanzo as she spoke.

"We don't need your help." The blond growled, unable to hide his concern no matter how hard he tried. "We are more than capable of getting that _idiot _out on our own."

"Now, now, Sanzo," Hakkai interjected sounding calmer than he felt, "I'm sure we are able to rescue Goku on our own but we may be better off combining our efforts. Yaone-san, Dokugakuji-san and Lirin-chan are going to go down anyway; we may as well help each other."

"Che!"

- . - . –

Sometime later Hakkai turned to Yaone, "How long do you think it will take Dokugakuji-san and Gojyo to return with the hiryu?"

The youkai woman turned fearful eyes on the healer, trying her hardest to keep tears from falling for Lirin's sake, if not for her own. "Probably about another ten minutes, maybe fifteen, Hakkai-san. We moved some distance away from the dragons during our battle and we had left them several minutes walk away from where we ran into you." She explained. "Once they have the hiryu, they should be fairly quick in returning to us. They fly quite fast."

Hakkai nodded in relief. "That's good. I'm concerned about our friends. They've been down there for some time already and are probably injured." He said quietly, trying not to upset Lirin too much with his worry.

Yaone nodded as she held her young charge back from the edge of the gaping hole in the ground.

"Che!" Sanzo grunted and walked away. He was actually worried; he couldn't feel Goku at all, even though he was certain the youkai wasn't dead. That much he was sure he would know. When he was some distance away from the others, he sank to the ground, trying hard not to be too obvious about the way he dropped and then with slightly shaking hands, he removed a smoke from a packet hidden within his robes and lit it up. Sanzo took a long, soothing drag on the cigarette, breathing the smoke deep into his lungs. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on Goku, reaching out across their link, calling but trying not to sound worried about it. He frowned, there was nothing, nothing! No answering cry of his name, no feeling, no hunger, nothing.

"Oi! Shitty monk!"

Sanzo started. He opened his eyes and glared at Gojyo, pissed off over the fact that had allowed the damn cockroach to sneak up on him like that.

"We're back with the hiryu. We can fly down and look for the chibi saru now." Gojyo stared at him.

"Che! Fine, I'm coming!" Sanzo answered shortly as he stood. He stalked past the kappa and headed for the two hiryu standing nearby. Sanzo eyed the nearest one as it balefully stared back at the monk.

"Lirin-sama," Yaone said gently, "I want you to wait up here please. The hiryu can't take too many of us at once and we don't know what is down there."

"What?" the distraught girl cried, "I don't want to wait here! I can help! My brother is down there somewhere."

"Yes he is and we'll bring him back safely. I promise you. No more than four of us can travel down there for the moment. It wouldn't be fair to the hiryu to carry anymore and we will be bringing Kougaiji-sama and Goku-san back with us. Both Dokugaku and I need to go, we need to fly the dragons and two of Sanzo-sama's people as well. No more than that. I am truly sorry Lirin-sama."

"_It's not fair_!" she cried, "Why can't one of you stay here and I'll fly the other hiryu?"

"_Lirin_!" Dokugakuji said sharply, "Please do as Yaone asks. We need you to guard up here in case anyone comes along. That hole is too dangerous to leave unattended."

"Fine then." Lirin answered in a sulky tone. "Hage Sanzo, will you stay with me?"

Sanzo glared at the girl and then immediately felt sorry as he saw the expression on her face, though he did nothing to apologize. "No, the ero-kappa is staying."

"Huh? Why me?" Gojyo asked in surprise, "I don't want to be stuck with the brat!" He didn't want to let anyone know that he was actually worried about the ever-hungry monkey.

"Nyerh!" Lirin retaliated to the kappa's thoughtless comment by sticking out her tongue.

"Idiot! If that baka is hurt badly, we will need Hakkai's healing ability and though I can't sense Goku just now, I might be able to sense him when we get close." Sanzo explained in annoyance.

Hakkai smiled consolingly, "I'm sorry Gojyo but what Sanzo says makes sense. Please stay and help Lirin watch things up here. It may also help if you can make camp while we are gone. That way we will have somewhere to look after Goku and Kougaiji if they are badly injured."

"Fine, I suppose you want me to start getting lunch ready too." Gojyo sighed in resignation.

"That would be helpful Gojyo but nothing complex."

"I would rather the kappa didn't cook at all. I remember last time he tried while you weren't around. He even made himself sick." Sanzo said poisonously as he climbed up behind Dokugakuji.

"Yeah? Well, I'd like to see you cook, you damn high and mighty monk." Gojyo snapped in retaliation.

"Please stop arguing, this isn't the time." Hakkai sighed as he settled behind Yaone. He watched as Gojyo lowered his head slightly. "Gojyo, Lirin-chan, we will be counting on you both." Hakkai added with a smile as Yaone instructed her hiryu to follow Dokugakuji and Sanzo.

The four reluctant companions and their hiryu descended into the hole in the ground, the hiryu having to keep their wingspans contracted somewhat to fit through. Gojyo and Lirin watched as the unlikely rescue team disappeared underground.

Lirin looked up at Gojyo, worry filling her eyes more than ever now that Yaone and Dokugakuji were also gone. "Do… do you think onii-chan and Goku will be okay?" she asked, needing reassurance.

"Yeah, they'll be fine squirt." Gojyo answered, placing his hand on her head and ruffling it gently. He smiled at the girl, "Can you help with setting up camp while we wait for them to come back?"

Lirin smiled back up at him and wiped her eyes before her tears could fall. "Sure, I'll help." She answered; glad to be able to do something to take her mind off of her brother's fate.

- . - . -

The group plunged into the underground cavern and it became harder to see as the light filtered out so Hakkai created a ball of glowing ki in order to help them see. They looked around in wonder at the size of the caves. The way down had been narrow at first but it had soon widened out, though not without the four noticing some nasty looking outcroppings of rock in various places. Finally they could see the bottom and saw a swiftly flowing river.

"At least we know one thing, if they fell into the water, which is a given, then they could only have gone one way." Dokugakuji said, stating the obvious. "The water's flowing that way, so that's the way we fly. Yaone, could you please fly a little ahead since Hakkai is providing the light?" he asked.

"Of course, Dokugaku." She answered as she directed her hiryu to fly ahead and to the side.

Hakkai tried to brighten the light of his ki a little in order for it to shine a little further. Yaone and Dokugakuji were loathe to fly the hiryu too fast, they knew they had to go a little faster than the river itself or they may never catch up to their lord and Goku but they also knew in the dimness of the available light, if they flew too fast, then they may not spot who they were looking for.

All four kept a sharp eye out, searching hard as they traveled. Dokugakuji and Hakkai called relentlessly for their friends, while Sanzo continued trying to call out within his mind. There were no answers. Finally, after some time flying along, Yaone thought she saw something in the dimness of the underground cavern and cried out, "Over there! Is that them?" She steered her hiryu towards the two shadows on the bank of the underground river. As she and Hakkai got closer, they could make out the shapes in the improving light and they were indeed Goku and Kougaiji. Yaone landed her dragon and she waited for Hakkai to climb off before she did as well.

Hakkai ran towards the unconscious pair, Yaone close behind even as Dokugakuji landed his hiryu close by. Sanzo barely waited for them to land before jumping off and running towards Goku.

"Is the bakazaru still alive?" Sanzo asked, disguising the worry in his voice to the best of his ability.

Hakkai looked up, "I believe so, at least there doesn't appear to be anything broken but I can't tell the true extent of his injuries until we get them back to the surface and in the light." He then moved to Kougaiji, where Yaone was already checking over the youkai prince.

She nodded in acknowledgement to Hakkai, "Kougaiji-sama looks alright too but I will feel better when I check him over on the surface."

"Good," Dokugakuji said, "we better get out of here then."

Dokugakuji then asked Sanzo, Yaone and Hakkai to get back onto the hiryu and he gently passed Goku up to Sanzo and Kougaiji up to Hakkai to hold onto. Once he had done that, he carefully climbed in front of Sanzo and coaxed his hiryu to fly back the way they had come. Yaone followed suit and soon the small group were flying their way back out of the cavern.

The flight was rough, the weight of three people apiece a little too much for the dragons to cope with and they had to stop a couple of times to rest. Finally, they were within sight of the gaping hole and they flew up. Yaone took the lead as she directed her dragon out of the hole and landed it several meters away.

"Onii-chan!" Lirin cried excitedly and Gojyo looked up as the girl ran to her brother. "Onii-chan? Are you alright?" She asked when there was no initial response from her brother.

Gojyo walked over, planning to help get the unconscious youkai prince down from the dragon but something by the hole caught his eye and he whipped his head around only to see the emerging dragon suddenly drop. "Kuso!" Gojyo swore as he ran, summoning shakujou and swinging it so that the crescent blade flew down the hole, snagging the hiryu. He cried out as the sudden weight dragged him towards the hole at a breakneck speed.

"A little… help here guys." Gojyo yelled in a not quite panicked state.

"Hold him!" Hakkai snapped to Yaone as he jumped off the hiryu, running to give his friend a hand.

"Hai!" the apothecary answered as she desperately grabbed hold of her unconscious lord. "Lirin-sama, please go help them too."

"O… okay Yaone-chan." The young red head answered shakily. She didn't want to leave her brother now that he was safely back but she also didn't want to loose her friend so she ran to Gojyo and Hakkai, grabbing hold of the end of the staff and digging her feet into the ground determinedly. Even with all three and Hakuryu also, they were still being dragged towards the hole, just at a significantly slower pace.

Hakkai glanced at the little dragon, his mind racing, "Hakuryu, please transform just in front of us." His pet obeyed him, flying just ahead and changing into his jeep form.

"Um, Hakkai, how is Hakuryu transforming going to help?" Gojyo asked, straining to hold his place without sliding further towards the crevice.

"We can… try to jam shakujou in behind the seats and use Hakuryu's power… to pull them back up." Hakkai explained, hoping desperately that his idea would work.

As they began to slide past Hakuryu, Hakkai climbed into the jeep while Gojyo and Lirin tried passing shakujou up to him, while trying not to let go themselves. In the process, the three nearly lost hold of the staff altogether but they somehow managed to hold on and even jammed it in behind the front seats, managing to lock it in place. Hakuryu kyuued in fright as at first he started being pulled back towards the gaping hole but Hakkai started the engine and pressed the accelerator. Hakuryu's tires squealed and spun on the ground before gripping. It wasn't much but they did manage to move forward a little. Gojyo ran behind the jeep and began to push, trying to add to Hakuryu's forward momentum. Lirin stared at Gojyo for a moment before joining him in his efforts. Finally, they began making progress and after a few minutes of combined pushing and pulling, the three youkai and the dragon-turned-jeep managed to pull the other hiryu and its passengers out of the hole.

Yaone watched, sighing in relief as she saw that Dokugakuji and Sanzo had managed to keep hold of both the hiryu and Goku.

Once they were above ground and safely away from the gaping breach in the surface, everyone collapsed momentarily in exhaustion. Several seconds later, Hakkai stood, making his way to Sanzo and Goku, "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Sanzo answered shortly, "Just check on that bakazaru!"

Hakkai chuckled slightly, "Hai, hai!" He knelt down beside Goku, checking him over briefly. "Gojyo, is there bedding and water out?"

"Yeah, we got everything ready just in case." The hanyou answered with a frown.

"Thank you." Hakkai replied softly. "Could you please help Yaone-san with Kougaiji while I bring Goku over?"

"Sure thing." Gojyo jogged over to Yaone where she was struggling with holding Kougaiji without dropping him. He reached up a little, taking the fiery youkai prince from the woman carefully. She smiled down to him in gratitude.

"Thank you Gojyo-san." She said softly as she climbed off the hiryu. She followed him to the small campsite as Gojyo carried Kougaiji there. Dokugakuji met them halfway and protectively took the prince from his younger brother. When they got to the camp, Dokugakuji placed Kougaiji down on one of the bedrolls, near where Goku had been placed and Yaone started checking over the prince while Hakkai looked after Goku.

"How is he?" Gojyo asked worriedly as he hovered close to Hakkai.

Hakkai sighed as he washed all the cuts on Goku's face and arms, "There is nothing broken but he has been banged up quite a bit. I would say Goku probably has a rather severe concussion however." He answered softly. The healer then turned his head briefly in Yaone's direction and called, "What about Kougaiji, Yaone-san?"

She sighed, "It looks like he has a broken arm and a concussion also, not to mention a lot of bruising. Really, he is lucky he isn't worse off though." She answered while cleaning up the cuts on her lord.

"When I am finished with Goku, I will take a look at Kougaiji if you like." He offered.

Yaone smiled, "We would appreciate that. Thank you Hakkai-san."

Once he was done cleaning up Goku, he moved onto Kougaiji. "Hmm, his concussion doesn't appear to be as bad," Hakkai observed, "but I will start healing his arm. I can't heal it completely but I should be able to reduce the natural healing time drastically."

Yaone nodded, "Thank you." She said as she watched Hakkai's healing ki wash over Kougaiji's broken arm.

Several of hours passed and neither of the two unconscious youkai had stirred. Hakkai was beginning to get worried. "This isn't looking good," he said anxiously, "Neither one are showing any sign of waking and their concussions don't appear that bad."

The apothecary nodded from where she was cooking. She poured out the contents of the saucepan into two small bottles and handed one to Hakkai. "Here you go Hakkai-san, that's for Goku-san when he wakes. It should help to ease any pain."

"Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate it, Yaone-san." Hakkai answered as he took the bottle from her, his eyes not leaving his patients

Dokugakuji spoke up, "If it's safe to move Kou, we really should head back to Houtou castle. We can't stay away much longer."

Yaone nodded, "It should be alright, we'll just have to be careful and take things slowly. Is the hiryu alright now?"

Dokugakuji nodded, "I believe so but to be safe, I suggest you and Lirin ride that one as you're lighter than Kou and I combined. We'll also fly low to be safe."

"Alright," Yaone answered, "thank you Hakkai-san for helping to look after Kougaiji-sama. Thank you Sanzo-san, Gojyo-san for all your help too." She bowed her thanks to the three.

"So… we're going home now?" Lirin asked in a small voice. "Will onii-chan be okay if we take him back? No one will try to do anything to him again will they?"

Dokugakuji smiled at the girl, "We won't let them get their hands on your brother, I promise."

Lirin nodded, relief filling her eyes and she smiled. "Alright!"

Hakkai watched as Gojyo helped Dokugakuji settle Kougaiji on their hiryu. "Have a safe journey back."

Yaone smiled back, "We will, thank you."

"Good riddance!" Sanzo said as their enemy's flew away.

Hakkai shook his head in faint amusement. "Now, if it wasn't for them, we would have had a much harder time rescuing Goku." His eyes settled on the still sleeping youth and he sighed. "I really am quite worried about Goku. He did get hurt rather badly during that fall."

Gojyo stood behind Hakkai, placing his hands on the healer's shoulders and massaging them gently. "I'm sure the saru will be right by morning, you know how he bounces back; you've done what you can and I know your best is good enough." He reassured gently.

The healer smiled and reached one hand up, grasping Gojyo's arm. "Thanks, you always know just how to make me feel better."

"Anytime I can help, just let me know. I'll even do my best to help when you don't ask." Gojyo said quietly.

"Why don't you two get a room dammit!" Sanzo snapped, "The saru's laying there unconscious and all you two can think about is getting it off. Go on! Leave, I'll watch him."

Gojyo rolled his eyes, "As if! More like you want some alone time with your monkey."

Sanzo glared while clicking the safety on his gun. Gojyo backed off, hands held high with a mock apologetic look on his face.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave when Goku is in bad shape." Hakkai asked worriedly.

"If there's any change for the worse, I'll call you! Just go!" Sanzo said, not trying to hide his irritation.

"Okay." Hakkai replied with a grateful smile as he and Gojyo went to their tent.

Sanzo stared at Goku, glad that the kappa had given him an excuse to get rid of him and Hakkai. He didn't want to show his concern for the monkey when the other two were sitting there as well. He heard the zip of the tent close and he heaved a sigh of relief. He began to stand only to freeze as he heard the zip on the tent again.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai called quietly, "If Goku wakes and is in pain, please give him some of that medicine Yaone-san made."

"Fine!" Sanzo answered shortly.

"Oh, and when you are tired, please come and get me. I would be happy to take over for you." Hakkai added.

"Whatever!"

"Goodnight Sanzo." Hakkai said as he pulled his head back inside the tent and closed the zip again.

Sanzo heard Gojyo's voice in annoyance, "What do you mean, you'll be happy to take over? You've done more than he has today. If anyone is entitled to their rest, you are!"

"Shh!" Hakkai answered, "Or he'll probably come wake you for revenge."

Thankfully, as far as Sanzo was concerned, the voices quietened at that point, becoming little more than whispers which he could not quite make out. Sanzo breathed deeply and finished standing up. He walked slowly to where Goku lay and sat down beside his charge. Sanzo remained still, he did not want to risk being caught so near Goku but he also didn't wish to move away so he sat there unmoving for the next couple of hours, listening as the soft sounds in the tent finally died down and stopped altogether.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Series: Saiyuki

Title: To Walk a Thousand Miles

Author: Zelgadis55

Beta: Diva Urd

Rated: PG 13

Disclaimer: Gensoumaden Saiyuki, Saiyuki Reload, Saiyuki Reload Gunlock and all respective characters belong to Kazuya Minekura. I do not have permission to use them, nor do I make a profit from them. Please forgive me for playing in their universe.

A/N: Well, while I certainly did not think I would be very fast updating this story, I did not expect to take this long to do so. The next update should be a lot quicker.

Huge thanks go to Cesmith who inspired part of a scene in this.

**To Walk a Thousand Miles**

**Pt 2**

Sanzo was finding it hard to stay awake. He had been watching over Goku for several hours now, still with no sign of his charge waking up and he knew that more than half of the night had already passed. Once again, he caught his chin meeting his chest and jerked himself awake again. He looked up blearily; the fire was dying. He reached over to the dwindling pile of firewood and tossed another small log on it.

There had been no sounds from the tent behind him for hours now, the occupants having stopped talking and finally gone to sleep, and Sanzo felt safe enough from prying eyes. He gently reached over and brushed the hair back from Goku's forehead, being careful to avoid bumping any of the saru's cuts or bruises. Goku was very lucky really, to escape with so few injuries despite the fall he had had. He must have hit rock at least a couple of times on the way down before the cavern widened enough and then… then to have hit the water from a free fall. He really was a _very_ lucky monkey.

"Nnngh…" a quiet moan filled the air.

Sanzo hurriedly pulled his hand back and looked sharply down at Goku. Sure enough, the teen was stirring at last. "Goku?" Sanzo asked a touch brusquely. There was no reply, however the saru's face scrunched in pain as he moaned again. The monk looked around for the bottle of medicine Yaone had left for Goku. In the darkness, lit only by the flickering of the firelight, he spied the bottle sitting beside their supplies. Sanzo stood and walked over to fetch both it and a cup. When he came back, he saw Goku's eyes were slitted open and glittering with unspoken pain.

"Goku, can you sit up?" he asked quietly. "I have some medicine for you that should help you feel better."

"What happened?" The teen laying in front of him asked in confusion. His voice was so soft that Sanzo could barely make out the question.

"There was an accident during your fight with Kougaiji. The ground opened up underneath you as you fought and you both fell through." Sanzo explained quietly.

"… Fight with…"

"Shut up and drink this." Sanzo commanded gently, helping him to a sitting position. The saru pulled back weakly and Sanzo felt annoyance surge through himself.

"What is it?" the tone was weak, the question insistent.

"Medicine." Sanzo repeated in irritation, "That apothecary left it for you. Now drink."

The reassurance seemed to work as the teen finally drank, almost choking on the pain relieving but bitter liquid. There were no more words. As soon as the saru finished drinking, his eyes closed, covering up the pain apparent within. He was asleep again before Sanzo could lower him back to the bedding roll.

"Che!" Sanzo muttered irritably. The damn monkey had no manners.

- . - . -

The sun was just beginning to rise when Dokugakuji carried his prince through the cold, soulless halls of Houtou Castle. Yaone and Lirin flanked him on their way to Kougaiji's rooms. It had been a long flight back and they had had to stop numerous times on the way for the sake of the hiryu that carried the two female youkai. Not only had it tired itself out carrying three people through the caverns but when it had fallen, the chain from shakujou, which had saved the lives of both it and the dragon's passengers, had caused it some injury. Mostly bruising and also some strain but still, that was enough to tire the poor beast out rather quickly. It was a good thing that they had decided to fly fairly close to the ground.

So far, other than the keeper of the hiryu stables who had quickly taken charge upon seeing the state of that particular dragon, they had not come across anybody. Still, that did not ease anyone's minds. Whether they could see anybody or not, there were still numerous spies and hidden cameras throughout the castle and the group needed to be careful.

They made it to Kougaiji's rooms without incident and Yaone and Dokugakuji gently placed the youkai prince in his bed while Lirin hovered around trying not to get in the way. As Yaone made Kougaiji as comfortable as possible, she asked Lirin to get some cool water in a bowl, a glass and a cloth. The princess was worried about going far from her still unconscious brother but she complied. When she came back, she handed both glass and bowl to the apothecary.

Yaone smiled warmly, "Thank you, Lirin-sama." She said softly as she dampened the cloth, placing on her lord's forehead.

"Is there anything else I can do, Yaone-chan?" the normally hyper princess asked anxiously.

Shaking her head, Yaone answered, "Not at the moment there isn't. All we can do is make sure Kougaiji-sama is comfortable and do what we can to ease his pain when he finally does wake up. Why don't you lie down and get some sleep?" She suggested.

Lirin shook her head emphatically. "I don't want to leave onii-chan. I want to be here when he wakes up."

Dokugakuji looked at the teenage girl and firmly said, "It might be some time before Kou wakes up, Lirin. There's nothing you can do for now and you need sleep. You don't have to go to your room, just sleep on the couch in here. If you want, I can move it closer to the bed for you."

Lirin looked up at her brother's bodyguard. She looked like she was about to protest but thought better of it. Dokugakuji could be firm when he wanted to be, that had been one of the reasons he had received the job. That and Kougaiji had seen something in the man, something that made him feel he needed to give him a chance. Lirin nodded, "Alright."

Once Dokugakuji moved the couch closer, Lirin settled and she almost immediately fell asleep. Yaone smiled in relief at seeing the exhausted girl finally resting.

"You should get some rest too." Dokugakuji spoke up a couple of minutes later. "You said yourself that there isn't anything that can be done until Kou wakes."

Yaone shook her head. "I'm all right, Dokugaku, really. After Kougaiji-sama wakes, I will get some sleep, not before. I need to be here." She added softly.

"You're pushing yourself too hard, Yaone. I can wake you when Kou comes to."

"You're just as tired." She protested.

Dokugakuji smiled, "I can't deny that but when he wakes, he is going to need you more than me. It would be better if you had some rest before then."

She smiled, "Maybe but… If he doesn't wake within an hour, I will get some sleep, not before."

"I'll hold you to that." Dokugakuji replied, realising he wouldn't convince her to go before.

Several minutes passed in relative silence before Dokugakuji spoke up again, "If Kou is going to need some time to recover, we'll have to somehow keep his condition away from Gyokumen and Ni as long as possible."

Yaone nodded in agreement but before she could reply, there was movement from the bed in front of her. "Kougaiji-sama?"

There was no immediate response save Dokugakuji rushing to the side of the bed. "Kou?" he asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

The red-haired prince on the bed stirred again before opening his eyes a crack and muttering "Sanzo?"

Yaone's hands flew up to her mouth as several tears of happiness that her lord had finally woken slid down her cheeks. "We left him and his group behind when we brought you home. After the accident, we couldn't continue the fight, you were hurt too badly, Kougaiji-sama." As her patient looked up at Yaone, his face telegraphing his confusion, Dokugakuji spoke.

"We pulled you and Goku out of the cave system you fell into during your fight. After treating you, we brought you back home. We've all been worried about you Kou."

"… Cave…" he muttered, closing his eyes and trying, not successfully to suppress a slight shudder.

"You must be in a lot of pain at the moment, Kougaiji-sama. Here, please drink this, it will help." Yaone said soothingly as she held out the glass Lirin had fetched earlier. She had since partially filled it with some of the pain relieving medicine she had made the evening previously. As Dokugakuji helped to hold him up, the young apothecary helped her lord to drink the astringent liquid, gently encouraging him to finish it when he shied away from the taste. Thanks to the fact that one of the ingredients within the mixture had a strong soporific quality, he was asleep again in moments, his expression of pain easing almost immediately.

Yaone's face filled with relief as she looked at the now more comfortably sleeping prince. Dokugakuji placed a protective hand on her shoulder, speaking as he did. "Kou's going to be fine now, isn't he?" When she nodded in response, he continued, "Then it's time for you to stick to your word. Go and get some sleep."

Nodding tiredly, Yaone turned and headed out the room. "Kougaiji-sama will sleep for several hours now. You should get some too, Dokugaku." Then she opened the door and left.

- . - . -

Hakkai awoke to a tent full of early morning light and the noisy singing from the remainder of the dawn chorus. Turning his head, Hakkai noticed Gojyo fast asleep in the sleeping bag next to him and a real smile formed briefly on his face before a frown took over as the memory of the previous day's events came flooding back.

'Sanzo didn't wake me. He must have watched over Goku all night.' Hakkai thought almost incredulously as he climbed free from his bedding. Even though he hurried, he was still aware enough of Hakuryu's presence to avoid accidentally hurting the sleeping dragon laying curled up at the end of his sleeping bag.

When Hakkai was clear of the tent, he looked directly to where he knew Goku would still be sleeping. Since Hakkai had been loath to move his patient too much and the weather was clear and warm, they had decided to leave the teen where he was, on his bedroll, not far from the fire.

Hakkai smiled in sudden amusement. Sanzo had not only actually fallen asleep while on watch but he had also fallen asleep next to Goku, his hand resting over the teen's arm. 'Sanzo's lucky it's me who caught him like this. If it was Gojyo who discovered this, he'd never live it down.' He chuckled as he crossed the few meters to where the two lay.

The campfire was barely more than embers now and Hakkai absent-mindedly fed a couple of pieces of wood onto the glowing coals. They would only need to restart it for breakfast later if he did not save it now.

Hakkai knelt down beside Goku and appraised his injuries in the early morning light. He shook his head in amazement; Goku was already showing signs of healing beyond what Hakkai had helped with the day before. As long as he had known the teen, Goku had always recovered just that bit faster than anyone else he knew. Reaching out to check his patient's temperature, Hakkai was dismayed, though not entirely unsurprised to find it high.

Sighing, Hakkai stood, before heading for the medical supplies.

- . - . -

His head hurt, a lot. The birds twittering and chirping noisily in the trees did not help and all he wanted to do was to lay in the cool, quiet, dark and sleep more. Just a pity it wasn't dark. Even from behind closed eyelids, he was aware of blindingly painful light. The last thing he needed right now was to actually look at it. Instead, he continued to lie there, not even responding to the gentle touch of a cool hand against his forehead. Even if he had wanted to react, he wasn't entirely sure that he would have been able to. Everything was just too hazy and actively trying to remember what happened required more concentration than he currently felt capable of using.

Why did his entire body ache so? Pain was nothing new to him; he had fought often enough to ensure that. Right now though, he felt as though he had bruises on top of deep bruises and that weight on his arm, while it wasn't heavy, it was distinctly uncomfortable.

There was no hope for further sleep right now so he gave up trying and opened his eyes. The light was every bit as painful as he had thought it would be - he couldn't help but involuntarily hiss as he brought his right hand up to shield his eyes until he grew used to the sudden brightness.

He frowned; that was open sky above him. That couldn't be right. The last thing he remembered was… the fight… and falling… something slamming into, no wait, him slamming into rock during his fall and sudden wet, cold… drowning, then nothing. Someone must have rescued him; his clothing was dry so it must have been some time ago.

Obviously he had been injured but why did he feel like this? Something… he shook his head to clear it, instantly regretting it. For an awful moment, he was sure he was about to be sick.

That weight on his arm, it really was uncomfortable. He slowly turned his head to see what it was and froze. It was someone's hand. His eyes trailed slowly up the arm it was attached to, taking in but not really absorbing the fact that the arm was swathed in robes. It was not until his gaze reached the hand's owner that it sank in. _Sanzo_. Sanzo lay beside him, asleep with his hand lying on top of _his_ arm!

'This isn't right!" he thought desperately as an edge of panic set in. 'Wha… what is…' Ignoring the nausea as he moved, he suddenly sat up, knocking away the monk's unwelcome touch. He tried to stand to get away but halfway to his feet, he lost his balance and fell back down. Completely disoriented, his vision swimming and his head killing him, he backpeddled as fast as he could without trying to get up again.

A pair of hands took his shoulders firmly from behind, stopping him from moving back any further. He closed his eyes tightly, barely registering the calm, soothing voice that spoke.

"Calm down Goku, you're safe now. There was an accident during your fight yesterday…"

'Yesterday? Accident?' he thought as those words barely made it through the fog filling his brain. 'That… explains some but… doesn't explain everything… like…'

"… injuries aren't too bad considering but you do have a concussion and will have to take it easy for a few days at least…"

He turned his head slowly and looked into Hakkai's kind, smiling face.

"… the thing that worries me the most is the temperature you have developed." Hakkai frowned a little before closing his eyes and turning his smile up a notch. "I would appreciate it if you went back to bed and rested quietly.

He didn't protest as Hakkai helped him to his feet. Half a meter behind the green-eyed youkai, a fire burned low and he stared for a moment until Hakkai began leading him back to the bedding he had just abandoned. He noticed Sanzo was now awake and sitting up with a disinterested expression on his face.

"Idiot," the monk said in an unusually mild tone, "if Hakkai hadn't stopped you, you could have added burns to your list of injuries." With that said, Sanzo stood and walked away until he disappeared behind some nearby foliage.

Hakkai helped him back down. 'This is wrong!' he thought insistently. He swallowed with difficulty, "Where… are Lirin, Dokugaku and…"

"Oh, they left." Hakkai said brightly.

Far too brightly, as far as he was concerned.

"But not before Yaone-san left some medicine for you. I'll just get it."

When Hakkai returned to him moments later, it was with the remains of the medicine. Knowing it was brewed by Yaone made him feel better about drinking it and only a minute or two later, he was asleep once more.

- . - . -

He was warm and if he hadn't been aching throughout his entire body, his right arm especially, if there wasn't any pounding drumming through his head, he would have thought himself quite comfortable when next he woke. The bed was soft and when he finally consented to open his eyes, the light was muted to a bearable level. He gazed up, surprised at how unusually high the ceiling appeared. Slowly, turning his head on his pillows, he took in the room. It was huge, certainly so for a room which only held one bed in it. The decoration was tasteful, that much he could tell, even if it was a touch on the spartan side. He had never been in an inn quite like this and somehow could not imagine being in such a one even now, despite his surroundings. Besides, it almost looked more like someone's bedroom. He smiled at the thought and shook his head, wincing as his head threatened to split in two. "But who would have a room like this?" He winced again. His voice sounded weird in his ears but he put that down to the fact that his throat was dry and it had therefore hurt him to even talk.

Awake and aware enough by now to recognize the need to take it carefully when moving, he began to sit up. He had seen a glass of water on the small table beside his bed when he had looked around moments ago and he really needed the drink. As he pushed himself up, he again noticed his arm. It felt heavier than he was used to, not to mention the sharp pain that drove though it when he put his weight on it. He looked down, surprised to see a cast on it. 'When did I break it?' he wondered, confused. "Oh yeah, must've been then…" he muttered as a dimly remembered image of falling presented itself within his mind.

"Where is everyone? Why 'm I alone?" he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Why wasn't anyone greeting him now that he was awake? He really didn't like this feeling, this loneliness. He never had and knew he never would.

After a few deep breaths, he opened his eyes again, reasoning that the others couldn't be far. They wouldn't have left him, they _couldn't_ have! He swallowed, he really needed that water. Despite how weird he felt and the pain from his broken arm, he stretched out his left hand with his usual assurity of movement for the glass that was just outside of his normal reach. Somehow, he managed to knock the glass over, spilling the liquid out and all over the little table. He stared in dismay as he watched the water flow off and drip onto the floor. He closed his eyes again, sighing. He would get yelled at for that, he just knew it.

"I better clean it up, then maybe I won't be yelled at as much." He muttered under his breath. Resolutely, he opened his eyes and began to climb out of bed. Something was wrong, _really_ wrong. Why did his hand look so… weird? He let go of the blanket, bringing his hand up to where he could study it more carefully. He took a deep, almost shuddery breath; his nails… they looked more like claws. What the… okay… the light was dim in here so he couldn't be entirely sure but his skin… his skin looked darker than it should have as well.

'How long have I been here? Where ever here is…' he thought as he gazed around the room again. If it had been awhile, that could explain his nails and the dim light was just playing tricks on his eyes anyway.

From his now seated position, he could see more of the room than he had been able to earlier. As his eyes roved past a nearby, obviously out-of-place couch, his gaze lighted on a sleeping figure with reddish-blonde hair.

"_Lirin_?" he yelped in surprise, clambering out of bed to go check if it was indeed her.

Lirin seemed to stir slightly at the sound of his voice, rolling over in her sleep to face his direction.

He paused, holding onto the bed for support. That was definitely Lirin - but what was _she_ doing here? He decided to wake her to ask and released his grip on the bed, taking a step toward her. He promptly lost his already precarious balance and fell in a heap.

"Are you alright?" a familiar masculine voice asked.

Next thing he knew, strong but gentle arms were helping him to his feet. He turned to look into the face of the person aiding him, Dokugakuji.

"What are you doing out of bed, Kou?" Dokugakuji asked in concern.

He frowned, licking his lips before replying, "Kou? Why did you call me that? I'm Goku. Did you hit your head or something?"

- . - . -

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Series: Saiyuki

Title: To Walk a Thousand Miles

Author: Zelgadis55

Rated: T

Warnings: Enthusiastic and younger sisters can be dangerous to your health.

Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing. Gensoumaden Saiyuki, Saiyuki Reload and Saiyuki Reload Gunlock belong to Kazuya Minekura and the respective copyright owners.

Author's notes: I'm sorry for not having updated in so long. Unfortunately, due to a combination of writer's block and personal stuff in real life, I have had a hard time continuing to write. However, I have not forgotten this story and as long as it remains on this site, I won't forget it. Since I have a couple completed chapters sitting on my computer and Cesmith has been reminding me to post at various times, I thought I better post this chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I've appreciated your thoughts and will do my best to take them into consideration.

**To Walk a Thousand Miles **

pt 3

For a moment, Dokugakuji stared at the man he was holding up as if he had suddenly grown an extra head, before smiling sympathetically, "Actually, you're the one who hit his head but that still doesn't answer my question, why are you out of bed?"

Goku glanced over at the bedside table guiltily, "I um… was thirsty but I knocked the glass over an' as I went to clean it up, I saw Lirin so I decided to ask what she was doing here." When he finished his explanation, Goku looked back to Dokugakuji who was still holding him steady and frowned in confusion. "Can I ask _you_ something now? How come you're suddenly not as tall as normal?"

"Maybe it's the shoes I'm wearing. Come on; let me help you back to bed." Dokugakuji replied.

Goku nodded slowly. The way his head and body hurt and the way his balance seemed to be so far out of whack, he hadn't heard or thought of a better idea since he woke up in this strange room. They turned and Goku felt a faint sensation suspiciously like a long ponytail swishing gently against his back. 'But, I haven't had long hair for a couple of years.' He thought, instantly dismissing the feeling.

Once he was back in bed, Goku suddenly remembered, "Oh, the water! I'm really sorry but I spilled it." He moved to get back out of bed again, "I'll clean it up."

"No you won't Kou, don't worry about it. Just rest! Yaone wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I let you do it in your condition."

Goku turned confused eyes on Gojyo's older brother, "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Dokugakuji looked a little taken aback, "You never minded before but I'll stop if you want me to, Kougaiji."

"No! I mean, I already told you, I'm Goku, not Kougaiji." Goku insisted, "Don't you recognize me?"

A worry that even Goku could not miss, filled Dokugakuji's eyes, though he tried to keep up a reassuring smile, "Of course I recognize you."

"Then _why_ call me that? Why am I here? Where's here and where's Sanzo?" Goku's volume started to rise with his frustration. "An' how long have I been here anyway?" he added remembering the vastly increased length of his nails.

Dokugakuji appeared to regard Goku seriously, "You really mean it, don't you?" he asked softly. "You really think you _are_ Goku."

"That's 'cause I _am_."

Lirin began to stir again and Dokugakuji glanced in her direction. He leaned forward, close to Goku and spoke quietly, "Do us all a favour Kou… uh, Goku. Don't tell anyone you think you're Goku."

Frustrated further, Goku opened his mouth to protest but Dokugakuji shushed him by continuing to talk.

"Don't tell Lirin, don't tell anyone. The last thing any of us needs, especially you, is to give Ni Jenyi an excuse to get his hands on you again."

"Again? Who is Ni Jen…"

"We'll talk about it later," Dokugakuji said while glancing in Lirin's direction again, "when Yaone wakes, we'll all sort this out altogether, okay?"

"'kay…" Goku agreed reluctantly, realising that he didn't have much choice.

"Good, now how about I get you some more water? When I get back, _I'll_ mop up the water that spilt."

Dokugakuji picked up the now empty glass and left, Goku staring mournfully after him, feeling lonelier than he had for quite some time. "But… where's Sanzo?"

- . - . -

Dokugakuji closed the door gently behind himself and sighed, leaning against it in sudden exhaustion. Despite his promise to Yaone to get some rest as well, he had not been able to sleep. He had lain there, tossing and turning for a few hours and had eventually given up, deciding instead to get up and check on Kougaiji. It was bad enough that Kou was hurt as badly as he was but to apparently lose his memory and even worse… to actually believe he was someone else? Dokugakuji had no idea what to do about that and wished that Yaone were awake now, even though he doubted she would have any answers either. 'At least she might have some idea though. Hopefully, Kou will come out of this soon.' He thought.

Dokugakuji pushed away from the door, heading off to get the water he had promised.

- . - . -

Once Dokugakuji had left the room, Goku lifted his hands in front of his face to stare at them again. Not only were his nails so much longer than he remembered and his skin tone a little darker but his hands looked a bigger too. He turned them over. Thanks to the cast partially covering one hand, he couldn't see it properly but his other hand was still uncovered. The calluses he had built up from handling nyoi-bou were missing. Puzzled, he turned his attention from his hands to look down…

"Onii-chan! You're awake!" An excited voice cried. The owner of it, Lirin, jumped on the bed, wrapping him within a fierce hug.

Goku gasped in pain. Lirin hadn't meant to hurt him, he knew that, but still, her hug seemed to target nearly every bruise, cut and injury on his body. "Let go, Lirin," he asked with a slight whine in his voice, "I'm not…" Goku closed his mouth, suddenly remembering Dokugakuji's request.

Lirin pulled away from him slightly, though she refused to let go, "You're not what, onii-chan?"

Goku shook his head slowly. Even carefully, it was still a mistake. "Doesn't matter."

Lirin looked at him a moment longer before beaming and hugging him tightly again, "You have no idea how scared I was! When you fell down that hole I thought I was going to lo…"

"Lirin!" Dokugakuji said in a slightly sharper tone than he would have preferred as he re-entered the bedroom. "Your brother is injured, remember?"

Lirin let go and pulled back, looking embarrassed as she did so. "I'm sorry, onii-chan," she said in a muted tone, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Goku smiled at her, "Nuh, not too badly. I'll live." He felt really weird allowing her to believe he was her brother but Dokugakuji had sounded so serious when asking him to keep it a secret. He hated secrets but it was a reasonable request to wait at least until Yaone was around. He could deal with it until then.

"Here you are, Kou." Dokugakuji handed Goku the glass he was carrying. Goku took it gratefully, almost succeeding in dropping it. The taller youkai helped him steady the glass while Lirin looked on from where she knelt anxiously beside him on the bed.

"I'm sorry." Goku apologised. He felt helpless, awful. Sure, he knew his injuries would affect him but… it was almost more as if he was having trouble controlling his body properly than any lingering effects from his injuries. His limbs felt odd and he was, in some distant way, reminded of a newborn foal, trying to balance on legs that were almost too long. Goku didn't understand any of this and he was discovering he hated this feeling almost as much as he hated being alone.

"Don't worry about it. Just give yourself some time to recover and you'll be back to normal before you know it." Dokugakuji reassured him.

Somehow though, Goku didn't feel very comforted by those words.

- . - . -

Kougaiji opened his eyes again, this time feeling a lot less disoriented and somewhat better than he had earlier. Other than the still open sky above, this time the sun a lot higher in the sky than before, the first thing he noticed was how incredibly hungry he felt. Slowly, he moved his hand to his stomach but failed to quell the loud rumble of hunger from within. A familiar face swam into view, Gojyo. The hanyou grinned down at him in a way that Kougaiji could have sworn said 'welcome back'.

Gojyo turned his head away and called, "Oi bouzu, your monkey's awake!"

Kougaiji blinked back his surprise as he heard the almost snarled response, "He is _not_ my damn monkey, cockroach!"

Gojyo, who had already turned back to face Kougaiji once more, rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, corrupt monk! The rest of us know better, even if you won't admit it."

"Do you really want to die? We only need one idiot." Sanzo threatened flatly as Kougaiji heard the sound of the safety mechanism on a gun released.

Gojyo ignored him for once and spoke to Kougaiji instead, "Hey, welcome back to the living. How're you feeling?"

Kougaiji frowned, he didn't know why one of his enemies was standing over him and greeting him instead of Yaone or Dokugakuji. A moment passed before it hit him that Gojyo was expecting an answer. Instinct warned him against addressing his real concerns so instead he answered with the next thing that came to mind, "Hungry, really hungry."

The redhead above him grinned with relief, "Typical, always with the food. You're gonna have to wait until Hakkai gets back though; he's just gone with Hakuryu to get some fresh water; we're almost out."

"Okay." Kougaiji answered simply. Despite the gnawing hollow feeling within his stomach, he was fine with waiting. While he knew these people would not mistreat him, he didn't think he should take food or anything else from them; after all, they were still his enemies.

The relief that had been showing on Gojyo's face seemed to turn into concern again at the reply given and Kougaiji wondered why briefly before dismissing it as unimportant. He struggled to sit up, taking a look around the campsite when he finally succeeded. No sign of his sister or his friends. Why would they have left him behind? What could have come up so important that they would do such a thing? Had he been hurt so badly that they just could not have risked moving him? How much time had passed since… since… that was right, since he and Goku had fought - the ground weakening so much from their battle that it had simply opened up beneath and allowed them to fall through. Judging by how hungry he felt, it must have been days ago. But…

… but thanks to the intelligence reports he often received, he knew quite a lot about the Sanzo-ikkou, certainly more than personal experience alone would have told him. The monk did not like to stop, for whatever reason. He would fight against stopping when one of his own group, even himself, was hurt, so why would they stop now for an enemy - especially one who kept trying to take that which Sanzo protected?

Kougaiji's eyes flicked in the direction of the hole; it was only about a hundred meters away from where the camp was. They had not moved away at all. Kougaiji frowned, besides not seeing any sign at all of his family, he had not seen Goku either. Maybe he was still down in the underground somewhere and Yaone, Dokugaku and Lirin were still looking for him. 'That doesn't make any sense though.' He mused. He could see the possibility of a mixed party down there searching but he could not see only his own people having gone down, especially Lirin, if it meant leaving him behind when he was hurt.

_What was going on_?

Kougaiji took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the camp. Gojyo and Sanzo were both seated, the former lighting a cigarette and the latter actively smoking. Sanzo was pointedly ignoring him. Catching him watching them, especially Sanzo, Gojyo spoke up.

"Do you want a drink or something?"

"Idiot!" Sanzo snapped, "Define 'or something?' That bakazaru might think you meant one of your warm beers."

Gojyo's ire rose and so did he, "Do you really think I would be stupid enough to offer the chimp beer? _In his condition_? Hakkai'd _kill_ me."

'Chimp? Bakazaru? They're calling _me_ that?'

Sanzo sneered, staying seated and refusing to give Gojyo the satisfaction of looking at him. "It wouldn't surprise me." His physical attitude clearly stated, 'you aren't worth my time'.

Before the escalating argument could get any worse, a loud 'kyuu' interrupted them as Hakuryu suddenly flew in between the two. Hakkai was close behind.

"Please refrain from shouting in front of our patient. He is not feeling very well as it is and you both adding to his headache will not help." Hakkai stated calmly but firmly.

When the arguing pair separated, or rather when Sanzo turned his head to look further in the opposite direction and Gojyo stalked to the other side of the camp, Hakkai turned to Kougaiji. "I am sorry about that, Goku. How are you feeling now? Hopefully better than when you woke earlier." As he spoke Hakkai reached a hand to touch Kougaiji's forehead.

Unable to help himself, Kougaiji flinched slightly at the contact. "Are you talking to me?" he asked in confusion.

Hakkai smiled gently at him, though obvious worry filled his eyes. "Yes, of course I am. How much do you remember of what happened?"

"Not much," Kougaiji answered cautiously, "the fight and then falling."

"You don't remember waking several hours ago?"

"No." Kougaiji answered immediately and then, hesitatingly added, "Actually, I am not sure. Maybe. It's very hazy."

Hakkai nodded, "I'm not surprised, you had quite a fever at that point." His eyes searched Kougaiji's. "It has come down a lot since then, thank goodness."

Kougaiji wasn't quite certain what to say to that but before he could reply, he heard his stomach rumble loudly again. Hakkai chuckled at his embarrassment.

"You must be quite hungry by now. I'll go fix you something." he offered.

"Thank you but you don't need to." Kougaiji said. "Can I ask you something though?"

"You just did but yes, go ahead Goku." Hakkai responded, his tone sounding amused to Kougaiji's ears.

"How long has it been since the accident?"

"Hmm, I would say about three hours short of a day."

"And I'm _this_ hungry?" Kougaiji could not help bursting out. It felt more like he had not eaten in a week. Though he would never admit to it, he felt hungry enough to eat one of the hiryu.

Hakkai laughed, Gojyo snorted and Sanzo simply exclaimed, "Baka!"

As Hakkai turned to go and prepare something for Kougaiji, the prince said, "Wait, I need to ask you something else." Hakkai turned to face him again questioningly and Kougaiji continued, "Where are Lirin and the others? Yaone and Dokugaku?"

Hakkai smiled gently, "They helped us to rescue you and Kougaiji. After we treated the injuries you both sustained, they took Kougaiji home."

"How could they have? I'm he..." Kougaiji clammed up. The Sanzo-ikkou really seemed convinced that he was Goku and although he had no idea why, he knew one thing for certain - he had been left alone with three of his enemies and while he was this weak, he could not risk them finding out the truth

- . - . -

To be continued


End file.
